Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson posted a tweet that apparently confirmed the suspect was a Russian colonel — but it was swiftly deleted.

Speaking on Newsnight last night, an investigator from Bellingcat revealed the investigative website will reveal the real identity of the second Russian suspect, known as Alexander Petrov, within the next fortnight.

He said they believe he is of a more junior military rank, possibly a Captain in Russian military intelligence.

British anti-terror copsare believed to know his identity and the Crown Prosecution service has charged both men of trying to poison the Skripals.

Bellingcat began trying to uncover Chepiga's identity by reverse searching the men's images from CCTV footage and their interview with Russia Today, in which they protested their innocence.

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Borishov, circled, was caught smiling with his associate in Salisbury hours before the attack on the Skripals

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Sergei and Yulia Skirpal were both poisoned by Novichok in March this yearCredit: Enterprise News and Pictures

It then contacted a former Russian officer who said the men would probably have been trained at the Far Eastern Military Command Academy.

A search for graduates between 2001 and 2003 revealed a photo of seven former students who were bestowed with the Hero of Russia Award in Chechnya and one of them looked very much like Boshirov.

This led them to the name Anatoliy Chepiga and, using leaked Russian military databases, the team eventually found a passport application which confirmed his identity.

This is a Russian passport application under the name Anatoliy Chepiga in 2003

Timeline of movements of Russian nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov who are suspected of conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, Wiltshire

Russian President Vladimir Putin says two suspects in Novichok poison attack on Skripals in Salisbury have been found but they're 'not criminals'

Scotland Yard even released CCTV footage of the men smiling as they walked down a street near the Skripal's home on the day he was poisoned.

But they claimed to be tourists interested in the history of the local area and praised Salisbury Cathedral for its "123-metre spire and its clock, one of the first ever created in the world that's still working".

Despite being filmed "moments before" the botched hit before leaving the country hours later in a flight out of Heathrow, the brazen Russians claimed they spent "no more than an hour" in Salisbury.

Petrov said they wanted to visit Wiltshire's pre-historic monument Stonehenge rather than carry out a state-sponsored execution on foreign soil.

PUTIN’S PROPAGANDA MACHINE Russian response to Skripal poisoning

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the poisoning and accused Britain of witholding information and not involving them in the investigation.

If he did command the hit, Putin might have many motives. It may be a warning to other defectors, or a show of power.

His blase response, and the government's sometimes-disparaging dismissal of foreign concerns reinforced the impression that the quasi-dictator does not have to answer to anyone.

By claiming the UK's actions are intended to prep its populace for supporting aggression towards Russia, the Kremlin simultaneously muddies the water and creates a sense of injustice at home.

Russian media has attacked the Novichok investigation on several fronts. It has claimed the poor execution of the attack suggests it was criminal rather than state sponsored, and now says the suspects are normal civilians.

Diplomats also recently stressed they has made several proposals to the United Kingdom to establish cooperation over the Salisbury incident.

The attack, and Putin's response, bare striking resemblance to that of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, who was killed after being exposed to a radioactive substance.

Russia is a regular target for criticism and condemnation from media freedom watchdogs, with the majority of TV and Newspapers either state-run, or owned by companies linked to the Kremlin.

Most toe the Kremlin's line, and critical voices are often attacked or even murdered.

This allows Putin to get his narrative to the population largely-unopposed.

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Petrov arriving at Gatwick Airport two days before the Novichok attackCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

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Boshov arriving at Gatwick two days before the attackCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

He said: "Of course, we went there to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum, but we couldn’t do it because there was muddy slush everywhere.

"The town was covered by this slush. We got wet, took the nearest train and came back (to London)."

Boshirov added: "We spent no more than an hour in Salisbury, mainly because of the lags between trains. Maybe we did (approach) Skripal’s house, but we don’t know where is it located.”

Chepiga, born in the tiny village of Nikolaevka in 1979, is believed to be married with a teenage son.

He graduated from his military academy with honours in 2001, when he was assigned to serve in the elite Spetsnaz units under GRU command.

The spook is said to have played a key role in the second Chechen War and was also active on the Ukrainian border in late 2014.

He is understood to have moved to Moscow at some point between 2003 and 2010, during which time he adopted his alter-ego "Ruslan Boshirov".

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CCTV image of both suspects at Salisbury train station the day before the attackCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

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Police said Novichok was brought into Britain in a Nina Ricci ‘Premier Jour’ perfume bottleCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

During their chat with RT, Boshirov tried to paint himself and his colleague as victims, complaining about how being named as suspects has made them fear for their lives.

He said: "When your life turned upside down, you don’t know what to do and where to go. We’re afraid of going out, we fear for ourselves, our lives and lives of our loved ones."

Putin has denied any involvement in the nerve agent attackCredit: Getty - Contributor

Speaking after Prime Minister's Questions earlier this month, Theresa May said the suspects were members of the Russian Military Intelligence Service and were carrying out a mission on behalf of the state.

She said: "Based on a body of intelligence, the Government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU."

But Boshirov denied being a spy while claiming he had never even heard the name Skripal before.

He said: "I didn't know, I haven't heard - until this situation, until this nightmare with us started, I haven't heard this last name (Skripal), I knew nothing about them."

Sergei Skripal was a former Russian spy working for MI6Credit: AP:Associated Press

Last week, the Crown Prosecution Service said: "There is sufficient evidence to charge two Russian nationals named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with offences including conspiracy to murder over the Salisbury nerve agent attack."

Scotland Yard also confirmed that both suspects had been to the UK before on the same passports and "travelled extensively on them in the past".

Following the attack, the Skripals were saved by British doctors - with Yulia making a full recovery just weeks later.

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The report was rubbished by Russian State media, who branded it a fabrication, politicised and not transparent - all of this parroted the official line put out by the Kremlin.

Putin later rubbed salt into the wound, awarding Lugovoi a medal for "services to the motherland".

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